YBa2Cu3O7-δ thick films for magnetic shielding: Electrophoretic deposition from butanol-based suspension

Multilayered YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) thick films were coated on silver substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD) followed by heat treatment. A butanol-based YBCO suspension is used instead of the common acetone-iodine combination. Tests with several dispersing agents reveal that a branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) dispersant develops large positive surface charge on suspended YBCO particles. As a demonstration of the performance of this new suspension formulation, a 12-layer 100 μm-thick YBCO coating was deposited on an Ag tube. The superconducting transition is sharp with onset critical temperature at 92 K. The sample can shield a magnetic field of ~1.3 mT at 77 K, i.e., the best value so far for an YBCO coating on a metallic substrate. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.